"I have long known that Sandia's California site is critically important to the Labs' success and that without it, we would be a much different and much weaker institution," Rottler said in an email. "Put more simply, Sandia is enhanced by our presence in California. I am very excited about my new assignment."

Having joined the technical staff at Sandia in 1985, Rottler has previously led nuclear weapon engineering and production activities at the labs.